Several dozen school dignitaries, friends and supporters of Central College and David and Betsy Roe were on hand around noon on Friday to witness the official dedication of the “Roe Center” at Central College. Roe is retiring as president of Central College after 12 years of leadership, during which the college has made great strides in establishing sustainability as a core objective across all academic disciplines. Dr. Roe says the naming of the building was a great honor for he and wife Betsy.

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“We’re extremely grateful of the Board [of Trustees] making this decision, and the community supporting it,” said Roe. “It’s very meaningful to us. The symbology [sic] of the building and the dedication of Central College to the environment and to service – all of those are captured in the building, and for our name to be associated with it is just a tremendous blessing.”

Dr. Roe added that it was still setting in that a permanent fixture at Central College would bear his name, but said he hoped it would provide a lasting message to the Central College community, present and future.

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“We hope that that physical presence becomes a reminder of one of the messages we both tried to put forth to students, faculty and staff,” said Roe. “That message being, don’t be afraid to dream, and don’t be afraid to share those dreams and to go after them.”

The Roe Center houses Central’s education, psychology and communication studies programs, as well as the new Center for Global Sustainability, and has also been awarded a platinum rating for energy-efficient design by the U.S. Green Building Council.